IPSWICH, Mass. — April 5, 2018 — EBSCO Health, the leading provider of evidence-based clinical resource tools including DynaMed Plus® and Dynamic Health™, has announced the launch of a shared decision making product, Option Grid™ decision aids. The Option Grid concept was originally created by Professors Glyn Elwyn and Marie-Anne Durand in 2010 and supported by work and research done at Dartmouth College. EBSCO Health is working with Professors Elwyn and Durand to deliver a product that is accessible and, powered by DynaMed Plus, always aligned with the most recent evidence.

Patient decision aids are tools to help achieve shared decision making by enabling patients to understand and compare their healthcare options in the context of their personal preferences, and arrive at informed decisions. State and national efforts to require and incentivize shared decision making are underway, including legislative changes in Washington State that afford enhanced legal protection to physicians who use evidence-based patient decision aids.

Option Grid decision aids are interactive and personalized, enabling a tailored presentation of healthcare options that are most relevant to the patient. Brief enough to use during patient encounters, the decision aids provide evidence-based answers to questions that patients frequently ask and are designed to facilitate an informed dialogue between patients and clinicians. Now, under EBSCO Health’s editorial direction, Option Grid content is created using a rigorous editorial process that incorporates the most recent evidence, clinical expertise by editors that have no competing interests, and thorough literature searching, appraisal and synthesis. The content is easy to read, and patients are involved throughout the development process. The new decision aids in Option Grid offer unique features that can engage patients and their relatives or caregivers in meaningful ways, including:

• Content produced by editors with no conflicts of interest
• A development process that includes patients and patient panels reviews
• Continuous content updating based on DynaMed Plus’ daily literature surveillance

EBSCO Health Senior Vice President of Medical Product Management Betsy Jones says Option Grid’s new decision aids will help ease concerns for both clinicians and patients as they work together to make positive healthcare decisions. “The costs of healthcare can be reduced when patients choose less risky operations or use their medication more effectively. These aids were developed to not only address patient concerns, but also to reduce cost savings and provide incentives when they matter most.”

Dr. Glyn Elwyn, BA MD MSc PhD, professor at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College and co-founder of Option Grid, says the new decision aids were developed in response to patients looking to be more engaged in the decision-making process. “Shared decision making is a crucial step in the patient-clinician relationship that is often overlooked. These decision aids fill a critical need in healthcare and look to align the goals of care with the patient’s informed preferences.”